Two-Faced (16 page)

CHAPTER FORTY NINE

Zach parked in front of Ally's house. He was ten minutes late, but judging by the loud music pouring out of her windows, she was definitely at home. He unzipped the gym bag that was strapped to the back of his bike and pulled out the teddy bear, looking at it in the eye. Then he turned it over and unsnapped the hidden pocket on the back of the bear and reached in to turn on the camera.

As long as Ally didn
’t look inside it he'd be okay.

"Hey big boy. You
’re late.”

He quickly snapped the back of the teddy
bear, then looked back to see Ally standing behind him in nothing but her partially open emerald-green kimono. He quickly shoved the bear back into his bag and turned to her.

"Hey doll,”
he said, going up to her and slipping his hands underneath her silky kimono. He grabbed her by the hips, pulled towards him and kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back hungrily then looked him in the eye, smiling slightly. Then she took his hand and led him towards the house, her robe fluttering open as she walked. She appeared unconcerned about being exposed to the world. Or at least to her neighbors.

“
I’m late cause I stopped to get you something. A gift,” he said, reaching into his duffel bag and pulling out the Teddy bear

He handed it to her and she looked at it, f
rowning in displeasure. “This? Is what you got me?”

Inside the entryway of her house, he put his bag down  and took off his jacket.“
Gimme a break, Al. The drug store was the only place open. I thought he was cute.”

“
Then you can have it,” she said, tossing it back to him as she walked over to the bar.

Zach hurried to catch it before it fell, grabbing it just in time.

She poured them both drinks then headed into the bedroom.

Zach followed her in then plopped onto the bed and put the bear on the nightstand
next to him. “C’mon, Al. He’s cute,” he said looking at the bear and aiming to face him.  “I thought you could name him after me.”

“
What ‘Money-Pit Bear?’” She rolled her eyes and put her drink on the nightstand next to her.

“
Nah, studly, or something,” he said as she leaned over to kiss him. He clasped her hair in his hand and pulled her close, kissing her back hard.

At sound of the phone ringing, she jerked back.

“Leave it,” he said, trying to pull her back down.

But she pushed off of him and sat up grab
bing the phone from the nightstand.

“
What,” she barked. She listened in silence, then nodded.  “Hmn. Okay. Thanks.”

She hung up the phone and crawled back onto Zach.

“Now…” she trailed her finger down his chest. “Where were we?” She climbed on top him, straddling his pelvis then leaned to down kiss him, her hair falling around his face. Zach kissed her back, gathering her hair in his hand, then jerked her head back.

“
Hold on,” he said. “Who was that?”

She blinked her green eyes at him, catlike. “
No one. Don’t worry about it…” She leaned down and kissed his neck.

“
Was it your partner in crime?” he asked, pulling away and trying to look her in the face.

“
Zach, you’re so paranoid.” She nibbled at his ear, her hand trailing down his chest, unbuttoning his shirt. He grabbed her wrist.

“
Ally, y’know. I’m not stupid. I know there’s someone else involved in all this. I want to know it is.”

She looked at him in irritation. Then she reached for a cigarette on the end table and lit it. "What the hell is your pro
blem?”

He leaned up on his elbow.“
It’s this whole murder  thing—it’s gotten a lot of press and I need to be sure none of it can lead back to me."

“
It won’t,” she snapped.  “You had nothing to do with that.

"I know that. But what if she figures it out? Yo
ur sister—what if she goes to the cops and they come looking for me…”

"They won
’t," Ally snapped, climbing off of him. “They don’t believe a thing she says. Not when I can disprove everything.” She took another drag on her cigarette and looked at her perfectly manicured red nails.  "Believe me, Jess is so easy to manipulate it’s barely even fun anymore.”  She stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray on the nightstand and opened to drawer to find a nail file. 

Then she turned her head and looked back him,
sighing. “You’re not all that much fun yourself,” she said.

She crawled back over to him.

She leaned in to kiss him, unbuttoning his jeans and reaching inside.He told himself to focus. But damn, she made it hard. Even when he didn’t want her. Hell––didn’t even like her. But she was damned tempting.

He felt the metal snap around his wrist and looked up at her.

“Hey, what the hell was that?” He looked over to see that she’d handcuffed his wrist to the bedpost. He pulled at it, trying to get free. “Hey, get this off. This isn’t funny.”

“
Relax,” she smiled, blinking slowly, like a cat, as she climbed on top of him, her robe now fully opened.

“
Ally, seriously. You know I don’t like this shit…”

Ally smiled down at him through hooded eyes. “
But I thought we’d play a game…”

“
Ally, cut it out. I’m not in the mood.” He pulled at the handcuff, trying to get it off.

"Sssh," she whispered reaching over to the nightstand. “
I thought we’d play some ‘good cop bad cop.’ And tonight…” she unfurled the long leather whip she’d pulled out of her drawer. “ I get to be the bad cop."

CHAPTER FIFTY

Jess paced nervously around her living room. It was 11:30 and her nerves felt as though they were pricking through her skin. Sykes woul
d be there soon and she needed to have something to give him. When she’d called him and asked him to come over, she’d promised him some new evidence about the murder. But Zach still hadn’t dropped off the tape.

At eleven thirty, Sykes appeared as planned.
He seemed to be in a bad mood as he walked into the foyer. "So what’s this all about," he asked abruptly. His eyes scanned her face then looked towards the rooms behind her.

“
Come on in,” Jess said in a voice that sounded lighter and more confident than she felt. She led the way into the living room. “The evidence isn’t here yet, but it should be soon.”

He took a seat on the couch, and leaned back studying her as she took a seat opposite him.

"Detective, I know Ally’s secret. How she knew everything that happened to me." Jess looked at him, expecting some kind of surprised response but there was nothing. His gaze didn’t waver for a moment.

“
Video cameras,” she said with a hint of triumph in her voice. “That’s what was in the hats. Not drugs. There never were any drugs or any smuggling."

Sykes leaned back against the sofa and frowned. "I guess it
’s possible. It explains how she could be in two places at once."

Jess gave an eager nod.

"Are you just guessing?” he asked.

"No. Zach...er...the guy I met in Texa
s-- the one that Ally denied ever existed. He told me. It turns out he was in on it with Ally the whole time. It was all part of her plan.”

“
Her plan.”

“
Her plan to kill my father and pin it on me.” Jess was talking too fast but she was too excited to slow down.

“
And you have evidence of this? Zach will confirm what you’re saying?”

“
I have something even better,” Jess stood and looked nervously towards the front door––
willing
Zach to walk through it. "It’s a new videotape,” she said with forced calm.

"Yeah?
And what’s on
this
video?"

"Ally. Confessing to the murder."

That got Sykes’ attention. He looked at her in surprise.

“
It should be here any minute,” Jess said. She glanced towards the door again then checked her watch. It was midnight. She just prayed Zach would show up soon.

It was after 12:15 and Jess could see that the detective's patience was wearing thin.

"Look," he said, standing up and rubbi
ng the back of his neck. "I’m going. I’ve got to go get something to eat or I'm not going to make it. My brain’s fried and..."

"But what if he comes? Please, just wait a little longer."

He shrugged. "It doesn’t look like he's going to show. He told you he’d be here by eleven, right?

Jess nodded hopelessly as Sykes walked toward the door.

"Detective, why don’ t you let me make you dinner. I'm a really good cook."

He turned and studied her. She couldn
’t help but wonder if his detective skills were somehow sensing her lie. Other than macaroni and cheese and hot dogs, she was almost useless in the kitchen. Except for her one specialty. "Pasta?" she said trying to sound lighthearted. She took the coat from his hand, not giving him time to refuse. Then she strode into the kitchen, praying she had at least some of the ingredients she needed.

Sykes shrugged and followed her in, checking his watch again.

In an effort to distract him, she began a steady stream of nervous chatter. She just had to keep him occupied until Zach showed up. And how hard could that be really––she had a six year old after all.

“Dinner’s ready,” she said as she placed the large steaming bowl of penne with vodka sauce, onto the dining room table. “Do you want some wine? Or…”

“
Just water, thanks,” Sykes said as he placed his coat over the back of his chair and sat down.

Jess served them each a bowl then took a seat opposite him.

"Mmn,” Sykes practically moaned as he took a large forkful of the rich pasta.  "My wife never let me eat this stuff. Too much cholesterol."

He wiped his mouth with his napkin and took another enormous bite. “
I guess divorce has its perks," he said.

Jess smiled and took a small bite, chewing politely. She was way too nervous to have an appetite but she wanted to k
eep the detective engaged.

"How long have you been divorced?”

“
Two years,” he said, taking a sip of water. “We share custody of Matt. I get him every other weekend. That’s the downside."

Jess nodded and put her fork down giving up the pretense of eating.

"Detective, can I ask you something?"  She looked into his unreadable brown eyes. “Do you really believe that I killed my father?"

He sighed and put his fork down on his plate. "Like I said, you can't tell with people. Looking at you, I'd say no. You d
on’t have it in you. Your sister seems much more capable of that sort of thing. But I've been fooled before.” His eyes darted away from her momentarily.

Studying him, Jess had the distinct feeling that he was remembering something specific. Some personal
betrayal. By his wife, maybe?

She couldn
’t help but wonder if he'd been cheated on too. She wanted to ask him about it. To tell him she knew what it felt like, but when he looked at her again his eyes had grown cold.

"But like I said, what do I know? You l
ook innocent enough, but maybe you and she are in it together and are working with each other to confuse everything."

He shrugged and pushed his plate away, then stood up and adjusted his gun in its holster. "This guy
’s not coming," he said as he reached for his jacket on the back of the chair. “Thanks for the dinner though.”

Jess was frantic. She couldn
’t let him walk out the door. She hurried to her feet and rushed to stand between him and the door.

"But maybe...what if I got it
wrong?"  She shook her head frowning, wondering if this were indeed possible.

After all, Zach said he'd get her the tape, but did he actually say he would bring it over to her house? She couldn
’t remember. "Maybe it’s at his place. I could have misunderstood..."

"You know where he lives?" Sykes was looking at her through narrowed eyes. "I thought you said you barely knew the guy."

"I do. I just…I...we...went there to get the videos. Ally and me. That one time."

Sykes's wary brown eyes considered her fo
r several seconds.

"All right. Let
’s go check it out.”